Mike Tannenbaum (born February 14, 1969) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

analyst and former executive. He served as the executive vice president of football operations for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He founded The 33rd Team, which describes itself as a "football Think Tank." He currently works as an NFL analyst for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Education

Tannenbaum graduated from

Needham High School Needham High School is a public high school in Needham, Massachusetts, educating grades 9 through 12. Notable alumni and teachers * Charlie Baker, 72nd Governor of Massachusetts * Marsha Bemko, executive producer of Antiques Roadshow. * ...

in Needham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in 1987. He received a degree in accounting and a minor in sports management from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. He then graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from

Tulane University Law School The Tulane University School of Law is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. Campus The law schoo ...

, where he earned his certificate in sports law.

Career

Pittsfield Mets

Tannenbaum was an intern for the minor league Pittsfield Mets during the 1991 season.

Cleveland Browns

Tannenbaum worked in the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

' personnel department acting as an assistant under Michael Lombardi.

New Orleans Saints

Tannenbaum worked as an intern in the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

personnel department while he attended law school In 1996, he worked for the team as a player personnel assistant.

New York Jets

Tannenbaum was hired by the

on February 19, 1997, as the director of player contract negotiations. Over the years, Tannenbaum served in numerous administrative positions with the team, including senior vice president of football operations and assistant general manager. Tannenbaum succeeded Terry Bradway as the team's

in 2006. Tannenbaum signed a contract extension with the team through 2014; however, following the last game of the 2012 NFL regular season, Jets owner

Woody Johnson Robert Wood Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947) is an American businessman who is co-owner of the New York Jets and was formerly the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, ...

announced that Tannenbaum would not return for the 2013 season.

Priority Sports

Tannenbaum was hired by Priority Sports and Entertainment, where he oversaw the coaching, broadcasting and front-office for the New York branch. Some notable clients Tannenbaum represented were: Dan Quinn,

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the United States men's national ...

, Phil Savage, and

Jack Arute Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He was formerly an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered t ...

. Tannenbaum resigned from Priority Sports in early 2015 to accept a position with the

Miami Dolphins

Tannenbaum was hired by the Dolphins to be the executive vice president of football operations, starting February 1, 2015, after acting as a consultant for the team during the 2014 NFL season. On December 31, 2018, he was reassigned from his duties without a defined purpose.

ESPN

In April 2019, Tannenbaum joined ESPN as an NFL Front Office Insider.

References

External links

*
The 33rd Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannenbaum, Mike 1969 births Living people ESPN people Isenberg School of Management alumni NFL announcers NFL general managers New York Jets executives People from Bernards Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from Somerset County, New Jersey Tulane University Law School alumni